Blue Valley North Science Olympiad

This event involves taking a test about the Skeletal, Muscular, and Integumentary systems of the human body, from general anatomical questions to questions on what happens on the cellular and biomolecular level. No other body systems will be tested. You can bring in a cheat-sheet, a partner, and non-graphing calculators. Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for everything from notes to practice tests!

Astronomy is the study of stars.  This year, the focus is star & galaxy formation & evolution.  There will be math problems relating to period, luminosity, velocity, and distance.   You can bring in binders, computers without internet access, and calculators. Make sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page!

This event involves designing and building wooden Boomilever meeting requirements specified in the rules supporting a minimum load and to achieve the highest structural efficiency. The goal is to hold as much weight as possible (totaling 15 kg), while having the lightest Boomilever possible. Due to the risk of flying splinters should a Boomilever collapse, eye protection is required! Don't forget to check out the official Science Olympiad website and the Wiki page!

This year is focused on Aqueous solutions and Acids and Bases.  It is recommended that participants are taking or have taken either Honors Chemistry or AP Chemistry, as a large portion of the event deals with concepts discussed in that class.  There is a lab component to this event, so lab safety techniques should be well understood.  You MUST bring goggles and a lab coat/apron to the event (which can be provided by the club), a calculator, and up to 5 sheets of paper. Make sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page!

Circuit Lab is an event about all things electricity and magnetism. From AC and DC currents, to magnetic fields, Circuit Lab covers a wide range of topics. There is also a lab portion, where competitors must, for example, find the resistance of an unmarked resistor, or create circuits. Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and the Wiki page!

This event involves cryptanalzing (decoding) encrypted messages using cryptanalysis techniques and using advanced ciphers to encrypt or decrypt a message. For more information and help, check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page!

This event involves solving problems and analyzing data or diagrams using knowledge of the basic principles of genetics, molecular genetics and biotechnology. Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and the Wiki page for more!

​In Detector Building, you will design, build, and test a device which is capable of measuring and displaying temperature, as well as take a test covering devices and sensors. Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page.

In this event, you’ll take a test about epidemiology (the spread/patterns of disease in populations). This event will NOT go into detail about the medical side of how the body fights off disease, but rather on diseases themselves and their characteristics. When you take the test, you can bring in a cheat-sheet, a partner, and 2 calculators of any type. Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more help!

In Dynamic Planet, competitors will be tested over varying aspects of oceans, oceanography, and their impact on the world. The topic of Dynamic Planet rotates every year, but has a general focus on physical Earth sciences. Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more help!

Experimental Design allows three people to work as a team and create an original experiment in 50 minutes. Teams are given materials and a general prompt and are judged based on the official Science Olympiad Experimental Design Rubric, which can be found on the Science Olympiad website. Teams will not be allowed to take this rubric into the competition, but it is suggested that they memorize the rubric before the competition. Make sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more information!

For this event, two people must determine unknown substances in order to find the culprit of a given crime. These unknowns may be powders, plastics, fingerprints, DNA, and other pieces of evidence found at a crime scene. Teams are judged based on their ability to identify the unknowns as well as their analysis, which must reference each of the unknowns identified at the crime scene.

This event involves learning about ancient life and completing selected tasks at a series of stations including but not limited to fossil identification, answering questions about classification, habitat, ecologic relationships, behaviors, environmental adaptations and the use of fossils to date and correlate rock units. For more information, check out the official Science Olympiad website and the Wiki page!

This event involves construction and use of topographic maps, geologic maps, stereonets, and cross sections, and their use in forming interpretations regarding subsurface structures and geohazard risks. For those who have done it before, this event shares much common ground with Road Scholar (Division B) the Tectonics topic for Dynamic Planet (2017 and 2018 seasons). Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more info!

Gravity Vehicle involves the design, construction, and testing of a wheeled vehicle launched and propelled using the force of gravity. More information can be found at the official Science Olympiad page or on its Wiki page.

This event involves testing your knowledge of simple and compound machines and their applications in the real world. Additionally, competitors must construct a device to measure the ratios of three unknown masses. For more information, check out the official Science Olympiad website and the Wiki page!

Ornithology is the study of birds. This event will test identification and knowledge of a variety of bird species as well as more general knowledge about the class Aves. More information can be found on the official Science Olympiad page or on the Wiki page. An official national bird list is also necessary for this event. 

​

Image: White-crowned sparrow

Ping-Pong Parachute is a build event involving the design and construction of bottle rockets to launch a ping pong ball to stay aloft for the greatest amount of time. Check out the official Science Olympiad page or the Wiki page for more information.

This event involves using computer visualization and online resources to construct physical models of proteins, and answering a series of questions about the chemistry of protein folding and the interaction of structure and function for model proteins. For more information, take a look at the official Science Olympiad website and the Wiki page!

This event involves constructing and tuning one device prior to the tournament based on a 12-tone equal tempered scale and taking a written test on the physics of sound. Be sure to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more!

This event involves taking a written test about freshwater environments and organisms. With topics ranging from the water cycle to pollution, this Water Quality covers a wide range of aquatic ecology, with this year's focus being on freshwater environments. Don't forget to check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more info!

This event involves designing, constructing and testing free flight rubber-powered monoplanes to achieve maximum time aloft.  Building takes place before the competition. Check out the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more!

In this event, two partners work together to recreate a small pre-built structure that is shown to all teams. One partner describes this structure on paper, then the paper is passed to another room where the other partner builds the structure according to their partner’s instructions. The team that is closest to the original structure wins. Don't forget to look at the official Science Olympiad website and Wiki page for more info!